The present invention relates to a device for attaching an electrically illuminated sheet or a front panel of an automatic vending machine to the front face of the external door of the automatic vending machine. The front panel is illuminated from the back for providing an advertisement,
In the aforementioned attaching structure known in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 4, an electrically illuminated sheet or a front panel 3' has an upper portion and a lower portion. After the upper portion is inserted in the direction of an arrow into an aperture 2' of an external door body 1' of an automatic vending machine, the lower portion is bent and inserted until it is fixed to a backing plate, not shown.
In the structure of the prior art, a considerable force is required to bend and insert the front panel into the external door. Thus, the structure is accompanied by problems that a troublesome work is required, and that the front panel may have a damage on a front face if it is forcibly inserted.
On the other hand, recently, the automatic vending machine has a tendency of making the front panel highly fashionable by enlarging the space for the front panel and by curving or bending the front panel. Thus, in the structure of the prior art, it becomes more and more difficult to attach the front panel.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an electrically illuminated sheet attaching device or a front panel attaching device for an automatic vending machine, which can attach even a large-sized electrically illuminated sheet or a front panel without difficulty.